I have had washed eggs hatch.
I hope I am not offending anyone, but truly, I think the shipper should make good on those eggs.
If the box was not crushed in any way, it seems to me that it had to be at least partly the shipping.
I just got a whole boxful of eggs from Taterschickens, Heritage RIR's, and not one egg was even cracked. No displaced air cells, either.
The whole outside of the box had notes that these were hatching eggs, please be careful. And then on the inside, each egg was individually wrapped. I am not sure in what. It might have been a newborn diaper, cut in half, something like that anyway, and then carefully taped. It took me FOREVER to get them all out.
The eggs, after being wrapped like that, were TIGHTLY packed in, and then every remaining space in the box was tightly packed with bubble wrap.
I think you could have played baseball with those eggs and they would have been ok. That is how I ALWAYS plan to ship eggs.
I have to say that I did send some eggs to my daughter in Illinois, just for fun, not to hatch. Her daughters enjoy seeing my different colored eggs. They say they taste better than storebought eggs, which they do, too.
Anyway, I packed those eggs the way you describe, in the carton, with the carton stuffed with other stuff, and in a styrofoam box that I had.
Well, they came just as you describe your eggs. Yolk coming out of the seams. Ick. Exactly half were broken.
My feeling is that to be safe, eggs need to be individually wrapped, although it is obviously a lot of trouble, whether it be in a diaper or bubble wrap, whatever.
Especially when eggs are expensive and special, and you waited a long time for these eggs, I really think the sender should make good. Don't say who it is, because perhaps he WILL make good, and I would not want to give him(or her) a bad name! And, really, after reading what I said, isn't ANY egg you care enough to send for a special egg?
Ok, off of soapbox.
Catherine
How far did these eggs have to travel? Sounds to me like they didn't do an adequate job of packing them securely. Even the best packed eggs can have some arrive cracked , or blown air cells...but to be oozing? and the outside of the box not really damaged? That all sounds like poor packaging and rough handling combined to create a horrible mess. I sure hope the supplier sends you replacement eggs!
